Google Pixel and GrapheneOS: the secret weapon of drug traffickers to protect their data from the police

Judicial police analysts, specializing in cybersecurity (OFAC), have just warned of the new tool for traffickers to hide their exchanges via their mobile phones: GrapheneOS, an operating system that runs on Google Pixels and destroys their data in the event of an intrusion.

The traffickers' new method of trading safe from justice: the Google Pixel phone and the GrapheneOS operating system. This is the confidential information which was transmitted on November 7 by the judicial police to all other services. The anti-cybercrime office mentions this new process which would be used by criminals, in particular drug traffickers. "In my files, none of these devices could be opened by the police", says a specialist lawyer.A few months ago, during the excavation from the alleged leader of the sprawler omar Ile-de-France network, Narcotics Brigade investigators got their hands on a Google Pixel phone. The moment police computer scientists tried to exploit it, the device mysteriously reset. The Parisian judge in charge of the case will therefore have to do without the contents of the telephone to carry out his investigations against Bilel. This alleged 27-year-old trafficker is suspected of having managed this drug telephone platform which, between 2023 and 2024 in Paris, collected a turnover of two million euros and is said to have caused three deaths by overdose during chemsex parties.

Designed to "enhance the security of personal data contained in mobile phones"

However, encrypted messaging services like WhatsApp or Telegram and dedicated phones no longer represent a challenge for investigation services. They are cracking phones and computers despite refusing to give access codes for years. Other technical solutions have already been developed in the past and exploited by criminals. EncroChat, an encryption software for phones, and SkyECC, an encrypted messaging service, are the most notable examples. The first was hacked by cyber police and the second by Belgian police. The data recovered by the courts has led to the arrests of numerous criminals around the world, notably hitmen and international traffickers.

Listen GrapheneOS is "an alternative mobile operating system running on the Android ecosystem and developed specifically to strengthen the security of personal data contained in mobile phones", specifies a PJ analyst. It thus promises its users the highest level of confidentiality and protection against intrusions and invasions of privacy on the market. This software is free and designed to work exclusively on phones in the Google Pixel line. These devices notably allow the integration of a security chip which protects exchanges by encrypting them.

"Initially presented as being intended for legitimate uses to protect citizens against intrusions on their mobile phones, in particular for journalists, researchers or activists, GrapheneOS has gradually spread to users wishing above all to escape any form collection or analysis of data from their media by the authorities, including in a judicial context", adds the PJ.

Legally available as in parallel markets

Special feature of GrapheneOS: you can get it just as much on the darknet only on general public sites. The police also detected the existence of specialized forums, rooms on the darknet, or unreferenced YouTube channels which promote it."When present on a mobile phone, this system constitutes a clear indicator of technical sophistication and concealment intent", adds a police officer. The software can erase all data from the phone by displaying a fake Snapchat page, for example when a cyber investigator tries to enter its memory or decrypt it."We do not sell anything, we have neither customers nor users", specify GrapheneOS representatives, contacted by Le Parisien-Aujourd’hui in France. People can download our operating system for free on their Pixel phones and use it. Our work on security and privacy is highly valued by security professionals and is regularly recommended and used by human rights activists, journalists and lawyers. "

Bandits and traffickers also use knives

This structure, which is not a company but a foundation, emphasizes that its solution is used by ordinary people who do not appreciate the way applications and operating systems process their data. She adds that if criminals use Google Pixel and Graphene OS phones, it's because these solutions work well. But that does not make them accomplices, they assure. "Bandits and traffickers also use knives, fast cars and cash, things that are also widely used by honest citizens", his representatives note.And GrapheneOS adds that it protects against hackers and intrusions by the secret services of totalitarian states. We consider privacy a human right and we are concerned about projects as Chat Control (european bill which aims in particular to detect child pornography content passing through messaging, but which is widely criticized) which the French government supports. The invasion of privacy granted by such legislation would have worrying implications under a government with authoritarian tendencies, she defends.

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